Hawaii Leadership
Dorienne Silva, President
912.961.5622 / dsilva@yapinc.org
Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP), in conjunction with Hale Kipa Inc., runs an intensive intervention program to divert troubled youths away from incarceration or foster care. The Department of Human Services contracted Hale Kipa Inc. to recruit, train and supervise community members on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island to become paraprofessionals. Under the tutelage and supervision of YAP, these advocates spend an average of 15 hours per week in a youth's home, mentoring the family and teen to resolve issues related to school, employment, relationships, and other issues which impact the youth. Counselors encourage at-risk youths to participate in such constructive activities as mentoring other children and volunteering at senior centers.
Since forming in 1970, Hale Kipa Inc. has provided shelter and other services to more than 30,000 troubled youth. The purpose of this particular program is to address the concerns of youth who might otherwise enter the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility or Child Welfare Services. What's more, this joint-venture program is estimated to help 240 youth each year for the next two years.
Sharon Agnew, Director of the State Office of Youth Services, said the program "gives us an opportunity to provide services creatively to a broad range of kids that might otherwise continue to do high-risk behaviors. I think what's unique and exciting about this is it's delivered by trained paraprofessionals in their own communities. It's not outside people coming in, so much as it's people within a community helping their own children."
